Welcome dear readers to the seventh chapter of Rebirth, I am very happy with the positive feedback the story is getting and it just shows me how much I've improved and adjusted from the prototype story and I look to continue that momentum moving forward, so I hope you enjoy this chapter, and for those who read chapter 6 I pointed that there is symbolism, if you haven't caught it it's towards the end, I would love to hear your interpretation of it, this chapter will start with an adorable beginning, cause it's gonna get sad soon, specifically for our adorable fox.
5ad0wHand: Yeah I thought it would be interesting to introduce the Tamamo 9 as a part of the original mental scape, and interact via mirror reflection or subconscious, they will be revealed to Touma in due time, and will fully reveal themselves in a grand manner, also I had fun with the idea of Tamamo knocking Misaka out due the bridge scenario. As far as the necklace thing there was symbolism behind that, we all know what's about to happen and I wanted it to truly feel tragic. As for the kiss, I will be slow with the relationship but some moments will tow the line of love but not yet.
Godzillahero3: Medusa or Marie Huh? I'll have to see what everyone else thinks first. Atalanta would definitely be like an older sister figure to Uiharu for sure.
Guest Mr. X: I've fallen down the stairs of my home when I was little, and it was about, hm? 10 or 12 steps, I didn't break anything though, and while Touma is unlucky some moments of misfortune don't lead to full injury. I'm sticking to dub dialogue to make it simple, it works. Yes the lemon is still a thing I never said it wasn't. Thanks for supporting the idea of me using Darkbetrayers OC Julunggul but I want direct permission from him first.
Kurt930: the mini cat/Tamaki idea was something that was in my head while writing the prototype and it seemed fun, I just looked into a mini vitch, definitely trying that one! Abigail Williams eh, interesting.
Index/Fate belong to Kamachi and Nasu respectively. Lets go!
Chapter 7: Precious Memories
10 years ago, two months prior to the incident…
"Tamamo! Hey Tamamo, where are you?!" Called the voice of 5 year old Touma Kamijou.
The Kamijou family was in the mist of a picnic and of course they brought Tamamo along for their son to play with, it was a nice grassy field that sat by a riverside below a slope and forestry on the other side, at current Touma was by the trees looking for Tamamo, they were running around when she suddenly disappeared on him, little did he know she was hiding and biding her time.
"RAAAHHH!!" She bellowed out as she slipped out from behind a tree and tackled Touma.
"Whoa!! Hahahahaha, Tamamo!!" Touma laughed as he managed to get her off and started running as she chased him.
"Be careful you two!" Shiina called to them.
Tamamo chased Touma all the way to the slope going towards the river and caught him once more as they tumbled down laughing together just barely avoiding the nearby water.
"Got you now Touma!!" Tamamo victoriously shouted as she proceeded to tickle the boy under her.
"Hey no fair Tamamo, hahahahaha!"
Touma then grabbed her and pinned her to where she was in his old position and tickled her back.
"Hahahahaha, Mikon!! Ahahaha." Tamamo then took her free hand and splashed some water in his face making him reel back.
"Ah come on!!" Touma wines.
"You're too soon to out fox me Touma." Tamamo said slyly.
"Kids it's time to eat!!" Touya Kamijou called out.
Hand in hand the two ran their way to the picnic set up and joined Touma's parents to get the food ready.
"Tamamo sweetheart, can you help me prepare the sandwiches?" Shiina asked as Tamamo nodded.
The Kamijou matriarch adored Tamamo like a daughter and was happy that Touma had someone who stuck by his side through the months, secretly she hoped that it meant she gets grandkids in the future to spoil rotten.
"So kiddo I know it's early but have you ever thought of marrying this little sweetheart one day." Touya asked teasing his son.
"Dad not this again!!" Touma blurted as he reddened at the thought, especially when he heard Tamamo laughing.
"I'm just messing with you, but I have to say you two bounce off each other quite well, I want to believe that you finding her was fate." Touya said.
Touma tried to hide his embarrassment but couldn't, the Kamijou family plus one enjoyed the outing as they ate.
Later Touma and Tamamo sat by the river bank hurling stones, it wouldn't be too long till they had to pack it up to go.
"Hey Touma." Tamamo called.
"Hm?" He responded.
"I'm glad you were the one that found me."
"I'm glad I found you too Tamamo, your my greatest friend!" Touma responded.
Tamamo smiled at that, she felt her heart warm up, at those words, this second childhood wasn't so bad after all, but she felt bad, she knew Touma didn't know everything about her, they developed a bond of trust and deep friendship and yet she kept him in the dark on all manner of things, she was worried how he would react.
"Touma, you won't ever leave me alone right?" She asked.
"Of course, we'll always be together!"
"So on the chance we ever get separated, or…worst case scenario we never see each other again, you won't forget about me?" Tamamo asked hopeful.
"What makes you say that Tamamo? No matter what happens I could never forget about you!!" Touma said with his signature enthusiasm.
Present day:
Tamamo felt lethargic, she just lost a symbol that represented half of a long standing bond between her and Touma, a gift that kept her in spirits when it felt like things were at their lowest, now it's gone, what was she gonna tell Touma?
"Ok, I just need to clear my head, I'm sure he would understand, yeah." Tamamo said to herself trying to sound resolute.
Standing tall, hands on her hips, she tried to put on a tough exterior but mentally she was in the garbage.
"AAAAHHH fuck, fuck, FUCK!!!" Tamamo snapped as she cursed her lungs out.
"Tch, calm down fox, this is not like you, you'll loose your complexion like this, just find an outlet to occupy your mind and then work up the nerve to tell him."
Tamamo walked about trying all sorts of things to keep her mind clear, but even then the loss of her treasured necklace kept bugging her, for much of the day going into night Tamamo avoided going back home, she just didn't have it in her to face him yet.
When she finally did, she looked in horror as the building appeared to be smoking meaning a fire, she immediately dashed for the scene as it seems the fire department and Anti Skill were on the scene to put it out as a large crowed of people looked on.
"Touma!! Touma where are you?!" Tamamo desperatly called out.
She decided to once more track him by scent, running through the crowed she made a mad dash in the direction he was in, eventually she stumbled upon a bench where Touma was and to her surprise and shock there was Index with him gravely injured with a slash wound.
"Touma!!"
"Tama?! Where were you?! You've been gone all day is everything ok?" Touma blurted in avid worry.
"I'm sorry Touma I didn't mean to be gone so long, what happened and how did Index get injured?"
"She came back to get her habit and apparently the sorcerers hunting her had a tracking spell on it, one of them cut her thinking her walking church was still active, I fought another one named Style Magnus and I can imagine you saw the dorm." Touma explained.
Tamamo nodded solemnly, she felt horrible, she should have been there to help, screw her current insecurities her loved one was in danger, but it made her feel ever worse.
"We need to help Index now!" She's lost to much blood, I can't perform healing magic cause of my hand and know esper can do it because the laws clash leading to death." Touma said in frustration.
"Stand back then I have this, it's the least I can do for my absence." Tamamo said as she performs healing magic on Index.
Soon enough the young nun was right as day thanking Tamamo for saving her life, but now until the dorm was fixed they had nowhere to stay, but Touma had an idea.
"We're going to stay with your teacher?" Tamamo asked.
"We don't really have any other option don't we." Touma responded as he knocked on the door.
"Just one minute, are you the newspaper salesman please go away!" Said a fairly young voice.
The door opens to reveal the child like teacher Tsukiyomi Komoe in a pink bunny onesie, Tamamo was surprised to find Touma's high school teacher looked so much like a little girl, but appearance didn't really dictate one's age when you look passed human standards.
"Kamijou, you work for the newspaper? Wait who are these two?"
"No time to explain we are in a heap right now, my dorm is trashed and we need somewhere to hold up for a bit." Touma said.
"Wait wait I don't understand, hold on don't come in!!" Komoe panicked.
Making their way inside Tamamo saw a mess, beer cans and cigarette butts scattered all over the place as Ms. Komoe desperately tried cleaning the place up.
"Sorry about the mess, I didn't want you to see me like this, I don't normally have guests, say um, you don't mind woman who smoke right?"
Tamamo registered the question and her eyes went slit, did this woman happen to have a thing for Touma?!
"Alright Kamijou I need an explanation, who are these two, and are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Look Ms. Komoe I-"
Before Touma could say more Tamamo went up to his teacher and put her hand on Komoe's head, for a moment it was quiet, until the loli teacher turned around with a worried expression on on her face.
"I see, well if you can stay here for a bit until things calm ok, I'm gonna go out for a bit so don't do anything crazy ok." With that Komoe got her purse and left her apartment.
"What just happened? What did you do to her." Touma questions.
"Fox spirits are attuned to telepathic manipulation, I merely implanted a lie to keep her off of us."
"Tama you can't just manipulate someone's mind like that, it is not right!"
Tamamo looked down as Touma reprimanded her actions, but none the less Touma put a hand to her head petting her in an attempt to sooth the tension.
"I understand why you did it but at the same time it's best to not play around with people's minds, it can cause a number of problems."
Tamamo nodded, she was aware Touma had a righteous heart, one that she never thought she could have, not with her sins.
"Hey Tamamo, is it ok if pet your tail?" Index innocently asked.
Tamamo looked Index before smiling as she let her fox features loose and let Index pet her tail, meanwhile Touma was mulling over recent events, but before he could think it over decided to it was best to get some shut eye and the others agreed.
The next day went on like normal, Touma was off at school and Komoe was teaching his class, Tamamo was with Index in Komoe's apartment room.
"Hey Tamamo?" Called Index.
"Yes." Tamamo responded while reading a book.
"What exactly are you doing in Academy City? Seems odd that a fox spirit would live in a place that is the polar opposite of magic don't you think."
"It's because of Touma, he told you how we met 10 years ago right?"
"Yeah, he did say that, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"We were together for a year after he found me all alone in a forest just off his home town, one day he and I suffered an incident that forced us to separate, Touma ended up coming here, I lived in the woods for a decade, and by a miracle we reunited here in Academy City." Tamamo summarized.
"Have you lived with him since?"
Tamamo nodded as she continued to read, while Index thought about what she was told, then a question popped into her head.
"Are you in love with Touma?"
Tamamo nearly dropped the book as she registered what Index said and blushed.
"I-well I do care about him a lot, he is really the only one I can trust..." Tamamo's thoughts began to drift.
"You do don't you, why don't you tell him?" Index pressed.
"Can we change the subject Index? How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine but I'm not dropping the subject, it is sinful for two people not married under God's blessing to fornicate under the same roof." Index spoke out.
'Huh, she doesn't know who she's preaching too, we can easily take the boy as a mate without this God's say so a beast naturally follows all carnal desire afterall.' Vitch voiced in Tamamo's head.
'Hush Vitch!' Tamamo responded.
'Humph, you know I'm right.'
'That's not the point!'
"Don't worry Index, we haven't done anything, I know boundaries when necessary, and Touma is rather innocent."
Index considered her words before putting her thoughts aside.
Later night came and Touma should have been back by now, Komoe as well, Tamamo was getting worried.
"Index, I'm going to see if Touma's out there, stay put ok."
For good measure, she took some fur from her tail and wove it into a fox familiar.
"Look after her little one." Tamamo commanded.
The familiar yips and goes to Index who started playing with it as it licks her face, Tamamo then made her way out to find Touma, and after a bit of searching felt a high magical presence nearby which set off danger signals.
She ran to where the presence was to find Touma confronting a scantily dressed woman with a nodachi at her side, it looked like a fight had ensued as Touma looked banged up while the woman seemed fine.
"Touma!!" She called out.
This alerted both him and the woman which the latter's eyes widened seeing Tamamo full fox and all.
"Tama run, she strong, leave me to hold her she's one of the ones after Index!"
"I'm not gonna leave you to fight her alone, I wasn't there when the fire happened but I can help here." Tamamo said firmly.
"A live fox spirit, in this city?! Necessarius must be informed of this." The woman said.
Tamamo took the first strike sending her mirror laced with fire towards the woman who quickly dodged.
'She's fast!' Tamamo noted mentally.
'OG, let me out there, your not good with close quarters, she has you beat there!' Cat warned.
'I've got this Cat!'
Tamamo summoned some talisman as she tracked her opponent movements. She then felt a presence above her.
"Nanasen." The women said as she tapped her nodachi and Tamamo was hit with a strong quake inducing attack.
She was cut up and breathing a bit heavy but she stayed standing and focused.
"Thin metal wires, troublesome, Flaming Sakura Petals!!"
The Talisman turned into a series of Sakura petals which lit up in flames launching towards her opponent. The woman narrowly dodged the fast moving fire attack though some of it did singe her quite a bit.
"Who are you?!" Tamamo demanded.
"Kaori Kanzaki, that's all I'm telling you."
Kanzaki looked at her burn wound for a brief moment and Tamamo capitalized.
"Blinding Heaven."
"Aaah!!" Kanzaki cried as she was blinded by a bright light, Tamamo jumped and shifted her hands into claws as she landed on Kanzaki, she managed to get a few scratches in before being pushed off, and Kanzaki quickly got up using her momentum to hit Tamamo in the chest winding her as she landed back first.
"Tama!" Touma cried as he charged at Kanzaki bent on right hooking her.
"Nanasen!!" The wire attack once more sent him hurtling back and further injured.
"Touma!" Tamamo breathed out.
She shakily got up to her feet only for Kanzaki to jump into the air and deliver a hard kick to her face sending back down.
"You have immense mana fox but you are fragile and weak." Kanzaki said as she pressed the but of her sheathed sword into Tamamo's stomach making her gasp.
"You dress like a stripper." Tamamo insulted in defiance.
Kanzaki didn't take the insult well and stomped her boot to her face, unaware that a certain spiky haired boy to jump onto her in an attempt to lay a choke hold, it didn't last as she pried him off and hit him in the gut with her sheathed sword and then kicked him away.
Kanzaki turned around to see a standing Tamamo with her arm stretched out aiming at her and tapping into her root authority over the sun sent a miniature solar blast right at her foe which successfully struck her sending her into a wall and cracking it a bit, she was burned in the process.
"Damn...you." Kanzaki said as she gingerly got up to her feet.
"I'm not going to loose here to you fox, I'll end this here and now."
Kanzaki got into position and charged her mana preparing for a new attack.
"Single flash." Magic then infused with her sword and with one quick strike slashed at Tamamo sending her falling back as a torrent of blood spurred from her open wound.
"TAMA!!!" Touma cried.
"That takes care of one problem, now then I believe we were in the midst of something boy."
Somewhere unknown:
It was dark, she could hardly see anything, then as her vision cleared, she found herself in an all white fog filled space.
"Where...am I?" Tamamo wheezed.
"Your almost dead."
Tamamo looked over to see all 8 other members of the Tamamo 9 standing before her all lined up as Tamamo looked from right to left in order:
Cat, Vitch, Gucci, Delmo, Hime, Aria, Koyanskaya of the Light, and Koyanskaya of the Darkness, all staring at her.
"I'm, dead?" Tamamo said as anxiety washed over her.
"Almost dead, OG, Amaterasu is currently keeping you alive, and I'm grateful for that cause if you go, we go, I told you you should have let me fight, you held but got your ass handed to you!" Cat said in a frustrated manner.
"Wan!" Tamaki spouted from Cat's shoulder.
"That Kanzaki girl has potent attacks, you should have swallowed your pride and let one of us take the wheel, or unleash the rest of the tails and ended right there." Vitch said.
"And now not only are we in a fix but that boy is unconscious." Koyanskaya of the Light followed.
Tamamo's eyes widened in fear for Touma, she felt truly useless, for all that she has been through, all that she has fought, it was eating at her.
"Looks like it's time to wake up OG, and just in time too, that loli teacher just found you both." Cat said as the scene faded out.
Tamamo was just waking up, the first thing she noticed was her fox features were hidden, Amaterasu must have had a hand in it.
She saw Komoe freaking out but she was too dazed to hear her, before her vision faded out again.
She woke up once more and was inside of Komoe's apartment room as a worried Index came to her side.
"Thank goodness you're awake!" Index said.
"Where's Touma?" Tamamo gasped.
"He's right there but he hasn't woke up yet."
Tamamo crawled her way over to Touma and gently tucked his spiky bangs up a bit as she caressed his face.
"I'm weak." Tamamo muttered.
"Tamamo?" Index called worried.
Tamamo went back to a corner and curled up as a wave of depression washed over her, as if she had enough problems already, her secrets, loosing her precious necklace, now beaten and humiliated by an opponent who was the perfect mix of magic and physical force to take her down, it hurt her pride worse as she faced tougher things in ages past.
"Come on Tamamo cheer up, I'm sure Touma will wake up soon." Index reassured.
Tamamo wanted to believe her, but she was too clouded in her own wallowing, she then noticed a big crate collection of sake nearby and took a bottle, may as well drink her sorrows away.
"Hey that's not a good outlet Tamamo don't!" Index pleaded.
"I'll be fine Index, I'm not subject to alcohol poisoning and I doubt simple human sake will hammer me." She said as she opens the bottle and takes a swig, Index only looked on with avid worry.
July 28th Touma POV:
Touma slowly started waking up, he hurt all over, groaning he began to get up while hearing a commotion.
"Touma! Touma you're finally awake, I know it's selfish of me to ask but can you help!"
"Index...what's going on?" Touma questions as he looked over to see scattered sake bottles all over the floor.
"What's going on? How long was I out?" He asked.
"You were out for three days!" Index said.
"Three days! What did a party go on here while I was out?!" Touma said incredulously.
"That's what I'm trying to get too! Look!"
Touma looked over to see Tamamo downing a bottle of sake looking a bit disheveled, a stark far cry from the rather graceful and high maintenance girl she was.
"For the passed three days she went through that entire collection of alcohol." Index pointed out.
"Tama!! Hey!"
Tamamo stopped and looked over at Touma while staggering.
"Oh T-Touma! Ur ffffinally awake, I wash sho worried...'hic'...for youuuu."
"What the hell! Tama this is nothing like you at all!!" Touma said exasperated.
"Lighten up...'hic'...u shiwy goof I'm...'hic'...perfectly normal hm." Tamamo slurred as she w swayed about walking over to him.
"Where was Ms. Komoe during all this?!" Touma blurted.
"She got caught up doing things with your other teachers today but while she was here the other days even she couldn't stop this!"
Tamamo reached Touma and fell into him straddling him in the process, Touma was both confused and blushing as she began to display drunken affection by kissing his neck.
"Tama snap out of it this isn't you at all! And weren't you severely wounded?!"
"I'm sho sowy Touma! Toumaaaa! Mikooooon!!! I love you sho mush, Touma I love you!!" She spouted while putting his left hand to her breast making him both excited and panic induced.
"Touma, fornication before marriage is a sin before God!" Index shouted as she readies her teeth.
"Rotten luck! Tama please just stop already get a hold of yourself." Touma said as he pushed Tamamo off.
"You don wan me...'hic'...Touma? Would you rather have...'hic'...Suzuka! Shay away from Suzuka your mine!!"
"Whose Suzuka?!"
"Ah...I hear Cat, shut up...'hic'...Cat!!"
'Ahahaha!! She call me...'hic'...Cat! Ahaha!! You schuck OG!! Aha!'
Touma was thinking hard on how to tame a drunk Tamamo, he ran a bunch of scenarios in his head and just decided to wing it.
He caught Tamamo in a tight embrace which got her to react as he pet the back of her head and began to speak.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, but I can tell your hurting, I told you before if you need to talk I'll listen, the last thing I want is you hurting yourself, so please, please come back to me Tama, your better than this."
Tamamo was silent, she couldn't say anything even she wanted to, instead she returned the embrace and began to sniffle, not long after she cried her heart out into Touma's shoulder as he continued to pet her whispering soothing words into her ears.
Finally Tamamo's strength gave out as she slid down and Touma gently laid her on the floor and fell asleep, a worried look in his eyes as he gently fixed her bangs.
Right then and there he heard the door open up revealing Komoe and two other figures, Kanzaki and the one Touma fought and beat, Stiyl Magnus.
"Jeez, you all have a party in here or something." Style questions.
"Looks like the fox is alive and fully healed, and very drunk from the looks of it." Kanzaki said with a bit of surprise.
Tamamo POV:
Within Tamamo's mind scape she stood before Amaterasu, who had an amused expression on her face.
"My that was quite a show you put on one tail, I almost died of laughter."
"I shouldn't have been like that, what's going on?!" Tamamo demanded.
"Oh that was all me, I took away your ability to resist substance just to see you embarrass yourself in front of the boy, it was well worth what I witnessed, a bit of punishment for the defeat you took."
"Dam you!"
"Oh hush now, I'll sober you up in time for you to see this little event through, and be lucky that I'm being gracious to bring you up to speed because right now I'm currently listening in on the conversation outside, and I've never heard such utter nonsense about memory capacity in my entire existence, that puritan church must be full of idiots." Amaterasu said in annoyance.
"How can I trust your word?" Tamamo questions.
"You'll see." Amaterasu said as a white light envelopes Tamamo as she wakes up in the room, it was night time and a flood of info was hitting her like a dump truck.
"Tama thank God your awake! Index-"
"I know Touma." Tamamo said.
"What? How you were out of it."
"I promise to tell you when this is all over." Tamamo said as she made her way to a heavy breathing Index.
She began to scan her body's mana from bottom to top, and found an irregularity in Index, a curse, something she specializes in.
"Touma, I'm gonna need your right hand."
"Why?" Touma questions.
"She has a curse in her, and it's not anywhere on the outside or your hand would have got rid of a while ago." Tamamo explained.
"Where do you want me to touch them?"
"Strange as it will be you have to stick your finger in her mouth."
"What?!"
"Just hurry up and do it!"
Touma then complied as he followed her instruction and reached in, eventually his hand went off and a shock wave sprung out sending Touma back onto his butt.
"Urgent warning, read from chapter 3 verse 2. A rupture has been detected in all barriers 1 through 3. Regeneration provisions failing. Auto regeneration not possible. Action required to preserve the library. Assigning priority to interception of intruder-"
"Touma what is that?!" Tamamo said concerned for Index.
"It's called John's Pen Mode, some kind of magic defensive system or something!!" Touma explained urgently.
Having heard the commotion Stiyl and Kanzaki bathed in to see the disaster before them as Index floated in the air unleashing high amounts of mana to form a spell which shot a blast at Touma who blocked it with his right hand.
"This is impossible!" Stiyl shouted.
"Don't you see what's happening!! The church has been lying to you this whole time about Index, she has magical abilities, and the whole thing about her dying if her memories aren't erased every year, that's another whopper! The only thing killing Index is the curse the church planted in her. We just have to find another way to stop this then there won't be a need to to erase her memories anymore! Think about it this way the church made Index read a bunch of evil books, so they would fear Index turning against them, so in order to control her they planted a spell in her which made it to where she has to have her memories wiped every year!"
As Touma was giving his speech he continued to block the beam until John's Pen realized it was failing and switched to an alternative spell, the result was another more powerful and bigger beam, Touma continued to to resist but it was becoming a strain as the joints in his hand began to break and blood vessels started popping out blood making him scream out in pain.
Tamamo knew he wouldn't last so she summoned her Eight Folds Blessing mirror and hurled it at the beam at an angle which reflected the beam upward shooting all the way into the sky, and destroying a peculiar satellite in the process.
"Now Touma! Your right hand!" Tamamo called.
Touma ran to Index and reached out his right hand which proceeded to negate the magic at its source, John's Pen began to power down, Touma then caught Index as the excitement finally died down.
However there were strange white feathers falling around them, as Tamamo looked at them she realized they were dangerous and called out to Touma, but it was to late, a feather landed on his head and he proceeded to pass out.
"TOUMAAAAA!!"
A certain hospital:
Tamamo sat outside of the room that Touma was in, a look of worry and fear on her face, was he ok? Stiyl told her that what he was hit with was a deadly spell called dragons breath. Tamamo feard the worst when she found he was still breathing to her relief, and here she was now.
She was lost in thought when the door opened and barged out saying something about a stupid Touma and lying, a frog faced doctor then went up to her, he was known as Heaven Canceler and he was Touma's primary doctor.
"Ms. Koyanskaya I believe?"
"How is he?"
"He's recovered just fine, besides the broken hand of course." Heaven Canceler said.
"There's more isn't there." Tamamo deduced.
The frog doctor side as he nodded and gave her the bad news.
"I'm afraid Kamijou has lost his memories."
Tamamo's breath hitched as her eyes widened, it can't be true!
"This is a joke right? Please say this is a cruel joke!" She pleaded.
"I wish it was but we have the x ray to prove it, the part of of his brain that produces episodic memories is completely destroyed, all his memories up to last night are forever gone."
Tamamo began to shake as tears were brimming in her eyes, she wanted to believe it was all just a joke, but if it wasn't.
"Do you want to see him?" The frog doctor offered.
Tamamo immediately went into the room without a second thought as Heaven Canceler left to give privacy, with the coast clear she let her fox features loose as she looked on at the boy across from her, giving her a look of wonder and shock similar to the day he found her 10 years ago.
She slowly approached Touma hoping not to scare him, and sat down in the chair next to him.
"Hey Touma, how are you feeling." She said gently.
"My head hurts a bit but I'm ok for the most part." Touma said.
"Yeah, you always were one to recover quickly when something bad happens to you." Tamamo said.
"Yeah, I seem to have that knack eh." Touma responded.
"Hey, do you remember when we reunited you accidentally stripped me naked."
"I did what?!" Touma said aghast.
She got him hook line and sinker and her heart began to crack as the proof is in the putting right before her.
"Do you remember me at all Touma?!" She asked the big question.
Touma looked so hesitant but as Tamamo's eyes bored into him he finally broke, and told the hard truth.
"No, I don't remember you, I'm sorry."
And just like that Tamamo got up from her seat as her face scrunched trying to hold back a wave of despair.
"Hey are you ok miss?" Touma asked in worry as he looked at her pained expression.
Tamamo gave him a long look as she put on a smile, but it was so full of pain a tear slid down her face.
"I'm fine Touma." Tamamo said as she took her leave.
"Hold on wait!" Touma called out but she didn't stop as she left the room.
Tamamo got out of the hospital and bolted into a full sprint as she tried desperately not to cry, as different memories flashed through her head, from first meeting Touma to the picnic, the dreaded incident, their reunion.
'No matter what happens I can never forget about you!!'
Those words played in her head and then her mind flashed to when she lost the dragon necklace.
'I can never forget about you!'
Once more the memory of the dragon necklace played in her mind.
'Forget about you!'
'Why?!' She asked in her head.
She then tripped and fell face first and found herself in front of the same sewer opening where she lost her necklace.
Finally the damn broke as she couldn't contain it no longer and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" She wailed as she lay on the ground, she began to cry and cry and keep crying till she finally passed out but not before uttering one more thing.
"Touma."
AN: and that is the seventh chapter as well as the Index arc, now if any of you ask if Tamamo felt nerfed, I just want to point out that Kanzaki is a versatile opponent to face in her own right and has an array of abilities that can kill her, it was also Tamamo's first time fighting her, they will fight again, and like the prototype story will have a rivalry, I'm also thinking of having her be Tamamo's love rival to the reborn Touma to spice things up on that front, how did you like drunk Tamamo, I wanted to delve a bit more into a mental struggle aspect for Tamamo which will continue on for sometime especially when she has to start from scratch with Touma once more. Let me know what you think.
Next chapter: A New Beginning
Bye!!